FAMU police chief to retire after latest hazing flap

Florida A&M University announced the retirement of its police chief Tuesday, less than a week after school leaders learned that two music professors were alleged to have been present during a student hazing held in 2010 at the home of one of the professors.

Chief Calvin Ross, whose department has been criticized for the way it handled the investigation of that incident, plans to retire May 1 after 11 years with the FAMU police department and a total of 40 years in law enforcement, the Tallahassee university announced Tuesday.

Ross asked to be placed on leave immediately. The assistant chief of police, John Earst, will assume Ross' duties until FAMU finds a permanent replacement, the university said.

The school has been rocked by controversy since last fall's hazing death of student Robert Champion, a drum major who was beaten aboard a charter bus after the Florida Classic football game in Orlando on Nov. 19.

Numerous reports of hazing within FAMU's famed marching band have surfaced since Champion's death. In recent months, seven students have been charged with hazing in unrelated incidents.

Although no one has yet been charged in Champion's death, investigators recently turned the case over to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office.

Last week, FAMU faced another hazing revelation when Tallahassee police released a report accusing two FAMU music professors of being present during an off-campus hazing. One professor was accused of participating in the hazing of pledges, who sought to join an honorary band fraternity.

The two faculty members — Diron Holloway and Anthony Simons — were suspended with pay pending an investigative and legal review.

FAMU police have been criticized for their role in that investigation, which was closed without any criminal charges being filed. The Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System, expressed concern about the time it took for FAMU to turn the 2010 hazing case over to Tallahassee police, who handle off-campus crime.

FAMU received the complaint Nov. 21. But FAMU police did not transfer the case until Jan. 20 — and only after Tallahassee police requested information about the case from FAMU after speaking with the news media, Tallahassee police have said.

Ross has said his office had planned to transfer the case after completing a preliminary investigation, and that it was working on the case in conjunction with other hazing cases.

"The two-month time period … is a serious issue," Kelly Layman, a Board of Governors spokeswoman, said last week, adding that the reporting time frame could become part of the board's ongoing investigation into whether FAMU did enough to stop hazing before Champion's death.

Ross said he had initially planned to retire in January 2012 but stayed on because of the Champion investigation.

"This caused me to offset my plans for leaving until such time that the investigation into this case reached a conclusion," Ross said in a prepared statement. "As of this date, I believe we have reached that conclusion."

William E. Hudson Jr., FAMU's vice president for student affairs, wished Ross well during his retirement.

"Chief Ross has made significant contributions to students, faculty and staff safety during his administration, " Hudson said in a statement.